Cuncil vote on future of e-scooter hire in Geraldton coming but any future contract will include changes

People who hire e-scooters will be required to park them in designated spots in the CBD if a new contract is green lit by council this week.

City of Greater Geraldton councillors will, on Tuesday, vote to decide on the way forward with hired e-scooters after two companies bid to operate in the city — Beam Mobility which has been operating in Geraldton since 2022 and fledgling firm Ario.

The recommendation from council CEO Ross McKim is to offer new kid on the block, Ario, a one-year agreement. This is mainly because of Ario’s additional technology features, which includes extra cameras, sensors and the ability to detect if a user is wearing their helmet or not.

The issue was a hot topic of discussion between councillors at last week’s agenda forum, however talks and questions were aired behind closed doors to avoid any commercial in confidence information being publicly revealed.

CIty mayor Jerry Clune said “all sorts of comments” were made at the agenda forum, conceding he had no idea how Tuesday’s vote would unfold.

Any new contract, if approved, will include changes, including having yet to be determined designated parking spots in the CBD and reducing the total number of e-scooters from 350 to 250 in a bid to avoid dumping as well as powering down all e-scooters between 1am to 5am each day and having a reaction or sobriety test on all rides after 9pm every night.

Councillors could decide on a different route to Mr McKim’s recommendation — they could stick with the known quantity that is Beam, oppose any e-scooter hire service or approach both companies to see if they would both be willing to operate 125 e-scooters each in the city.

Mr McKim said it was important to remember that council had no power over private e-scooters or whether e-scooters were ridden on footpaths and roads — they could only control where they were parked.

“We can say yes or no to these hire schemes, but even if we said no, you look at Cairns what they do there, they just operate out of the hotels, and council can’t stop that,” he said.

Ario launched in 2024 and operates e-scooter hire services in Townsville, Cairns and New Zealand. They also hire out e-bikes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Mr McKim said he believed Beam had improved its service since it was bought by Neuron Mobility last year.

“With them you know what you’ve got, they’re local, they’re tried and true . . . you know what their technology can and can’t do, you know the issues, you know the advantages,” he said.

But Mr McKim noted Ario had put in a good submission and impressed with their technology. The company’s three-wheel e-scooters — which do not have ministerial approval to operate in WA yet — can self-park.

If Ario is chosen, Mr McKim said it would take them a few months to set up. But he could not say whether that would mean there would be a period with no hired e-scooters available in Geraldton.